Various battery-operated, motorized carts for golf bags have been proposed heretofore but have not proven to be entirely satisfactory under the various conditions encountered in actual use.
Examples of such prior proposals are shown in the following U.S. patents: Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 2,879,858; Chandler U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,706; Burnside et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,106; White U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,085; Beggs U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,713; Racoosin U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,185; Jacobs U.S. Pat. No. 3,123,173; Kaufman U.S. Pat. No. 3,150,736; Norton et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,853; and Hollis U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,247.
In the apparatus shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,962,106 to Burnside et al the handle for the cart is raised or lowered to change the setting of a rheostat on the wheeled base which controls the speed of the drive motor for the cart. Since the handle tends to move up and down when going over bumpy ground, the motor speed may be increased or decreased by such handle movement when the user does not intend it.
Another type of golf bag cart being sold today has the speed control rheostat located in the battery box on the wheeled base of the cart. This inaccessible location means that the speed is set just once, and the setting may be inappropriate for different golfing terrains so that, for example, the preset motor speed may be too low for when the cart has to go uphill or it may be too high for when the cart is going downhill.
Another type of motorized golf bag cart has the speed control rheostat located in the handle in such a position as to make it awkward and inconvenient to change the speed setting.